PLYMOUTH – The Harlin family's year so far has been a stark reminder of the value of freedom.

Plymouth resident Brian Harlin, 48, left for the Ukraine on Feb. 8 to adopt two special needs children to add to his and wife Laurie's brood of seven, four of whom also are adopted.

What they thought would be a four-week trip turned into a three-month ordeal because of the political turmoil in that country.

Now at home with their two new charges, Brian and Laurie, each 49, have their hands full once again with sleepless nights — one boy sleeps for only two-hour spans on average — and dirty diapers, as well as visits to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee.

But they wouldn't have it any other way.

"This whole thing has been such a blessing," said Brian. "It's one of the reasons why we're here on this Earth is to take care of others ... and there's a lot of kids in need."

Two-year-old Crosby Harlin has Down syndrome and physical and mental delays. Brian first met him in an orphanage in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 19, but wasn't able to take him home until May 5 because of ongoing delays in their adoption court proceedings.

Confined to crib

Sergei Harlin, 6, was adopted from Crimea, a region of Ukraine just recently taken over by Russia.

When Sergei was born 12 weeks premature, his mother threw him in the trash where he was then recovered and placed in a "baby house," or orphanage, said Brian. He has cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and significant physical and mental delays.

When Brian finally was able to take him out of the orphanage on March 18, he weighed less than 17 pounds, said Laurie.

Since bringing him home, the Harlins found that Sergei — who was never allowed out of his crib in the orphanage, let alone outside — loves the outdoors, especially cruising around their 5-acre property on a four-wheeler with dad, Brian.

Meanwhile, Crosby keeps the family entertained with his joyful disposition, said Laurie.

"They're awesome blessings to the family," Laurie said. "(Sergei) is very joyful despite his issues, such a happy boy. And Crosby is comical, and his brothers and sisters all love both of them."

Dire conditions

The conditions for special needs orphans in the Ukraine and other Eastern European countries are especially dire, said Brian. There's little oversight and few resources that go into the facilities, he said.

Ukrainian mothers who have special needs children are encouraged to put them in facilities rather than care for them, said Laurie.

Once in the facility, there's very little chance they'll be adopted, unless by an international family, said Brian.

"Once I got the chance to visit them in their orphanages and know them, to think of them staying in there longer was just heartbreaking," Brian said."These kids, boy, they're in pretty desperate situations the longer they're staying in these orphanages. They need help."

In Ukraine during the height of some of the country's disputes with Russia, Brian said there were parts of his trip that were "definitely tense."

The scariest part of his journey came two days after the March 16 referendum in which Crimean residents voted to join Russia, he said.

He and his 17-year-old daughter, Natalie, who accompanied him on one of his trips to Ukraine, took a train from Kiev to Crimea for a court date for Sergei. When they arrived, Brian said he looked out the train windows and saw dozens of armed militia surrounding the train, one about every 30 or 40 feet.

A couple of the militia men boarded the train, knocking on cabin doors and asking for passports, he said. Unable to communicate because of the language barrier, Brian called their adoption facilitator, who explained on the phone to one of the men their purpose for being in the country and the men left them alone.

Taken for granted

"That was probably the scariest point of this entire thing," Brian said. "You just have no idea what is going to happen in a political environment like that."

Brian's experiences this past year have made him especially mindful of the freedoms afforded in this country, he said.

"I can't tell you how much freedom crossed my mind when I was over there," Brian said. "Here you have a country where they're desperately trying to control their own future, but their future is being controlled more so by Russia, and/or the United States or the (European Union) or the other influences.

"I kept thinking about how we take it all so for granted here in the United States, just the day-to-day freedoms and being able to make the choices that we want and not having to to worry about the government influencing us like they do in other countries."

Those experiences have made him thankful.

"We have been blessed," he said. "This whole thing has been such a blessing. It's God's calling for us to go off and take care of these children who need it."

— Reach Kali Thiel at 920-453-5134.

Find out more

Brian and Laurie Harlin adopted Sergei and Crosby Harlin through Reece's Rainbow, a Down syndrome adoption grant ministry and international advocacy group. Families can apply for grants to help cover some of the costs of adoption. To learn more, visit www.reecesrainbow.org.